Page 121 of The Forbidden
Epilogue
Evan
Four weeks later…
“Anais Lauder is here to see you.” Janice’s voice comes through the intercom.
A smirk curves my lips. Clearing my throat, I push down on the button and speak. “Send her in.”
Leaning back in my chair, I fix my gaze on the door, waiting for my brat to appear. My blood thrums in my veins, shifting south, and my cock stirs to life at the thought of her. I don’t think I’ll ever understand the power this girl has over me, but I’m finally accepting it. Anais Lauder owns me, heart, body and soul and I don’t care who knows it.
Things between us had already changed, before the incident. But after, it cemented what I already suspected. I’m irrevocably in love with her. People say you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone, and I learned that the hard way. Holding her limp, bloodied body in my arms changed something in me. I was terrified I’d lost her forever. For all I knew, in that moment, it was life or death.
Fortunately for both of us, Anais is strong, she’s a fighter. It’ll take more than a stab wound to take her out of this world. As she put it,“Over my dead body would I leave this world and let all the vultures circle you. You’re mine, Evan Maxwell. And if I had died, well, I’d expect you to mourn me forever and never move on.”
All I could do was laugh. Though I had no doubt she meant every word. My girl is as jealous and possessive as I am.
The door opens and there she is. Anais, smiling in a little sundress that should be considered indecent. My eyes rakeover her, jaw clenching when I take in every curve of her delectable little body on display, her hips, her waist, her breasts and… fuck me, are those her nipples?
I’m up and out of my chair before I can stop myself, closing the distance between us and wrapping her up in my arms. I bury my head in the crook of her neck, inhaling her intoxicating scent. “Jesus Christ, Anais, you can’t walk around looking like this. Not when that pervert Eli is lurking about, waiting for a glimpse of you.”
She chuckles softly, sighing as I hold her close. “Don’t worry, I had a jacket. It’s hanging outside your office.” Amusement laces her tone. “The new elevator was… scenic,” she murmurs.
I pull back just enough to see the twinkle in her eyes. “Exactly what I was going for. The employees of Maxwell Diamonds can enjoy views of our remarkable lobby while riding to their floor. It has been scientifically proven that a nice view can boost morale significantly,” I drawl, talking absolute shit. Anais laughs, shaking her head.
Her eyes going to my desk, she cocks her head as a frown curves her full lips. “Why do you have a couple of the exact flowers from the bouquet you sent me yesterday?”
I let out a groan, and gently cup her face, bringing her eyes back to mine. “Every time I send you a bouquet,” I say, my voice low. “I request some of the same flowers for myself.” She arches a brow, curious. I exhale. “I keep them so I’ll know when they start to wilt, and I can send you a fresh bouquet.” I admit sheepishly.
Her lips part in disbelief. “You keep part of my bouquet just to monitor when they die, so you can send me a fresh one?” she repeats incredulously.
I nod. “That’s what I said.”
She smiles, pushing up on her tiptoes. “You really are the full package, Evan Maxwell.” Her lips brush against mine, just as her palm lands on my chest right over my heart. “The asshole persona is all an act. Deep down, you’re all heart,” she breathes. I grin down at her, my eyes flicking to the purple diamond around her neck. Smiling, I brush my fingers over the expensive jewelry. “Looks good on you. You can wear it on our first official date tonight.”
Anais smirks, her eyes locked on mine as she fingers my tie. “Who would’ve thought? The great Evan ‘I don’t do girlfriends’ Maxwell taking me on a real date as his girlfriend?” Her voice has a teasing lilt before her face sobers. “I can’t believe you actually bought this for me. It was over a million dollars” she breathes, her eyes locked on the necklace.
“Well, you’re worth every dollar I spent, Brat.” I pause. “And that prick prince didn’t really leave me much choice, did he?” I cock a brow at her.
She laughs, shaking her head. “You really are crazy.”
Leaning down, I brush my lips across hers. “Crazy about you.” She sucks in a breath, stepping back and putting distance between us. I search her face, frowning when I see the uncertainty on hers. “What’s wrong?”
She chews that full bottom lip, her big doe eyes bouncing between mine. “The officer in charge of my case called me on the way over here.”
“And?” I say impatiently, my hackles rising at the mention of what happened. When the detectives investigated, they found his dorm room full of magazine articles and photographs of not only Anais and her family but me. After everything came to light, Anais realized very quickly that the feeling of being watched was not only in her head, but Jarrod actually stalking her. Not only that, but he had invaded herhome and cloned her phone, so he could track her movements and who she was in contact with.
“They’ve charged Jarrod with aggravated assault. It carries a stronger sentence than stalking, although they are still looking into bringing charges against him for that. I still can’t believe he cloned my phone.” She shudders. “Makes me feel sick just thinking about it.”
Taking her in my arms, I sigh in relief before pressing a kiss to her forehead. “You are safe now.” I soothe. “And I hope he rots. Life in prison, if I had my way,” I mumble, leading her to my desk. I take a seat in my chair and pull Anais between my legs. Bunching her dress up, I run my thumb across the gauze on her thigh. “That bastard deserves everything he gets for hurting you.”
Sensing my shift in mood, Anais cups my cheeks, bringing my eyes to hers. “I’m fine,” she reminds me. Her lips quirk. “In fact… let me show you just howfineI am.”
My brows furrow, but then she drops to her knees in front of me and it all becomes clear. My smirk is unstoppable as she makes quick work of releasing me from my pants. I lift my hips, to help her pull my pants and boxers down. My hard cock bounces free, slapping against my shirt. Anais licks her lips, lilac eyes sparkling with hunger as she stares at my dick.
“You going to sit there and stare or put that perfect mouth to use?” I rub a thumb across her pouty lips.
She bats my hand away, wrapping her fingers around me and taking me in her mouth. My eyes roll shut. Fuck me, she feels good. Her warmth surrounds me, and my eyes snap open, landing on my brat, who watches me with a proud look on her face. She loves that she can bring me to my knees with a single touch.
